Bobbin-controlling mechanism for sewing-machines.



No. 875,613, PATENTED' DEG..31, 1907. W. N. PAEKES.

BOBBIN CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 No; 875,618 PATENTBD DEC. 31. 1907.

W. N. PARKES.

BOBBIN CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES. I

APPLICATIOL FILED APR. 27, 1903.

2 S HEETS- SHEET Z.

M10041]. ATTORNEY UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM N. PARKES, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BOBBIN-GQNTROLLING MECHANISM FOR sEwING-MAcmivEs.

Specification of. Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1907.

' Application filed April 2'7, 1903- Se 'ial No. 154,457.

" T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM N. PARKES, a cltizen' of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bobbin- Controlling Mechanlowing is a description.

ism for Sewing-Machines, of which the folthread-controh hng mechanism for sewing machines, applicable more particularly to sewing machines of the lock-stitch type, or thosewherein are This inventi 'n relates to employed an upper or needle-thread, and a lower or locking-thread.

Specially, this invention isintended to be applied to that class of lock-stitch machines wherein the loop of needle-thread is carried about the lowerthread by a hook, though it I is to be understood that the invention is not restricted, in its application, to revolvinghook machines, butis applicable to any kind of machine in which a lower, locking-thread is employed and in which the needle-thread is caused to interlockwith another thread. Hence, in this specification I purpose employing the term looper, as a generic designation, to comprehend all the forms of lock-stitch making ho0ks,shuttles, etc.

In lock-stitch machines the bobbin, cop or mass of locking thread, is held loosely 'in a bobbin-holder, and when thread is drawn therefrom, in the rapid operation of the ma- 'chine,the bobbin cop, ormass of thread, is

. machines the tension being on the bobbin thread all the timfe 'the supply of the same is drawn by the workias it is moved forward to dispose the stitches, and this draw of the thread against said-tension by the work s liable to pucker the same, especially if it is composed of thin material, or if long stitches are being made,

The main obj ect' of my invention is to pro-.

vide improved means for automatically controlling the bobbins in sewing machines so the above, and other defects will not bepresent in connection with the same. And it is also an important object to control the bobbins and through them the delivery of the thread from the same so that placing a tension on the bobbin thread in these machines may be dispensed with'.- And still another object is'to locate and actuate the parts of which my invention is composed so that the supply of thread fro'in'the bobbin wil1.be arrested when the supply for completing a stitch has been dr'awn.. And it is also an ob ject to have these parts act so that the supply for either a long or a short stitch is drawn before the delivery of thread is-arrested.

With the above and other objects in view,

my invention consists in the variousparts, features, and combinations hereinafter described and set forth .in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an end elevation of so much of a sewing machine as is deemed essential/to illustrate the dis osition and application of my invention; 1g. 2 is a perspective viewshowing the disposition and relation of the feeding and looper mechanism and the bobbin c'ontrollin mechanism; Fig. 3 is a vertical section 0 a POF tion of the controller, showing the bobbin" controlling finger in two positions, the full lines showing the said finger withdrawn and the dotted lines showing said finger in operative'position; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cloth-plate, a section being removed to show a portion of the feeding-mechanism, and the' slide-plate being withdrawn to show the bobbin-controller and its relation to the l'ooper mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail view in plan of a-portion of the bobbin-controlling device,

showing in full lines the rest or stop which cooperates with the controlling finger, and which latter, together with other parts ad- 'jacent thereto, are shown in dotted lines;

Fig.6 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 66 of Fig, 4; Fig. 7 is a-view showing the adjacent faces of the collars, or means, for-adjusting the' tension of the spring which regulates the pressure of the controlling fin er; and Fig. 8 is a face view of the camdis containing the groove foractuating the controller.

Primarily,-- it is to be noted that the stitch-forming mechanism herein illustrated is or may be the same as that made the subject of my patent. granted June 9, 1903, No. 730,692 and that in said machine the loope'r and bobbin-holder are preferably disposed in a horizontal plane; the bobbinholder is supported by, and contained in. the looper. and is held from turning during the operation of the machine; the bobbin-holder is provided with a secont'lary hook which aids the loop-taking hook of the looper in assing the needle-loop about the holder and ocking-thread no tension is applied directly to the strand of the under thread leading to the work at any time during the operation'of the machine, the usual tension device on the bobbin-holder and the arious eyes and leads for the thread being dispensed with, thus enabling. in combination with the special construction of looper de ices there-- in described. the use of a bobbin or cop of thread. more than two and one-half tinieslarger than those used in other machines of like character, and also permitting the use of a very much larger bt bbin-holder. without increasing the size of the looper or the quantity of needle thread used in the loop passed about the bobbin-ladder. It is also to be noted that the extent ol the stroke ot the take-up not increased. nor is the quantity ot thread drawn through the needle in the stitch formation Furthermore. the feeding mechanism herein shown and described. the particular disposition of the looper relatively to the feeding mechanism. and the structure of the throat-plate, are or may be substantially the same as those parts which are made the subject-matter of my application Xo. 150,182, filed March 30, 19025.

I wish to note that throughout the specification and claims, I have employed the terms "bobbin" and thread with reference to the mass of locking thread, and I do not intend to be restricted to the technical meaning of such terms; for, it will be obyious that a cop of thread, or a mass thereof in any other form, can be used. T herefore, I desire it to be understood that the terms bobbin and threat shall be synonymous and comprehend any mass of thread capable of use in connection with my controller, the only essential being that the latter shall act directly upon the mass, or-

the part that carries the mass, in contradistinction to acting upon a strand, or length. or portion of thread between the work and said mass.

1, indicates the clothplate; 2, the lower shaft of the machine, which may be supported in any suitable manner, and from which the two rock-shafts 3, and 4-, are actuated by suitable means (not shown). to gitic the necessary movements to the feed-bar. The rock-shafts are suitably journaled in hangers of the cloth-plate, asusual. The forward end of the shaft 3. is proyided with a yertically disposed arm 5, in the upper end of which is adjustably connected the feed-bar 6, the adjustment being secured by means of a slot 7, and a suitable screw-bolt and nut 8. The rock-shaft -1-, is PIOTitlGtl with a horizontal arm 9, supporting at its forward end the link It) extending erticallyand pro ided at its upper end with the fork 10 to the prongs of which the forward end of the iced-bar is pi oted by means of the screw-pin 11. free to turn in its bearings and held by a nut. The feed-dog 1;. is supported by and pivoted upon the screw-pin 1.1, within the fork of the link. The teed-dog is proyided with an extension 123, having its under side Hat and on which bears the tlat spring 14, fastened in any suitable manner to the teed-bar, as by means ol' the screw 13. The extension 13, is also prodded. with the inclined portion 16, on which bears the spring 14. when the dog is turned up or back as shown in l ig. 1. The. under side of the feed-dog is proyided with the tint portions 1T,see Fig. 1,which rest upon corresponding ilat portions of the feedbar. said dog bei'ng normally held in the position oi l ig. 3. by means ol' the spring 14. is. is the lot iper. located as shown in l. 2 and 4. directly below the l'eed-dog. close to and in rear ol the \\'orking position of the needle and substantially in the direction of leed. The looper is arranged in a horizontal plane, and carries the bobbin it), or other mass ol thread. This is the preferred disposition of the loo er-n1eehanism; but, it will be obvious that the Silitl'lllttliillliSlll may be otherwise disposed and good results secured by the use of my bobbin-controller presently to be described. The gearing shown drives the looper, giying the same two' rotations to a single reciprocation of the needle, disclosed by my patent abo c referred to. The other parts of the looper mechanism are indicated, generally, by 21, and as the same separately forms no part of my intention, they are not further described.

\Vith the above disposition ol looper and feed mechanism, it is important to so construct the clothplate that ready access may be had to the looper mechanism for any desired purpose. To this end the throatplate.

oi the machine includes the elongated plate 22, which is fastened renioyably to the clothplate by screws 23, has in one side the teed slots 24, some of which are open'ended and form the tongue 25, which latter contains the needle aperture 26. The cloth-plate is provided with ways 27, in which slides the section 28, of the throat-plate and which is provided with the open ended slots 29, to receive. the portions,of the. feed-dog 'which 0" erlap the lt'ioper-mechanism, and between which slots is formed the tongue 29 A spring catch 30, of any suitable character is secured to the cloth-plate by means of the screw 31, and is so located as to hold the slide imposition when in place. This disposition .I. receive the heel portion of the finger and rean construction are disclosed in myapplica tion 150,132, above noted. i,

The ib'obbimcontrolling mechanism consists ofthe cam disk 32, carried. by the shaft "-2, and having therein the cam-groove- 33. orovided'withthe swell or projection 34. In

said cam-groove runs a pin '35, carried b an arm 36, and having an ant'-fr iction r01 37'. The arm is suitably secured, asv by a screw 38, to the end of a rock 'shaft 39,"journaled in arms 40, of a bracket 41, secured to any suitable stationary part of the machine, or, V 1 bracket thereof, as 42, by means of screws 43. Between the a'rms' of the bracket, the shaft '39, is provided with a collar 44, fixed thereto lby a screw 45, and which'collar has in its face a series of radial slots'46. 'Next the collar 44 loose upon the shaft-39, is placeda collar 47, having its periphery knurled and also having its face, adjacentthe collar 44, provided with a lug'or pin 48, which re isters with and enters any one of the radia slots 46, according to its adjustment. Connected to the collar .25 47,is a spring 49, coiled about the shaft 39,

, and havin its other end suitably secured to g the thread-controlling finger 50, which is loosely sleeved upon and carried by shaft 39.

- Uponthe shaft ea en the thread control- 80 ling finger, and between the same and" the -:a support 51, for the thread control 'ng finger. Said su port consists of a ,s lit sleevewhich em races the shaft 39, an is So clamped thereto. bya screw 52, passing *viously, the support forthe finger may be {6, adjusted so as .to regulate the normal position of rest of the thread-controlling fin er, or the extent of movement of the contro ler" toward the thread and prevent the latter from 'bei forced with excessive pressure upon the bobbin. And. whatever pressure p is desired the same-can be secured and nicely and" accurately regulated. 'by adjusting the collar 4'2, so-as-toincrease or decrease the tension 49, uon saidv fin er; To facilitate the passing of the thread etween the conftrolhn'g and the bobbin-and for the purpose of rnishing the'finger with a suit:

able engafirllgg part-for contact 'withjthe bob.-

bin the, f er-is: provided withv a convex boss 542*" J v m In orde to enable the finger 50, to be withdrawn, so as to -permit the bobbin-orother "parts of the looper-mechanism to be removed, adjusted, or otherwise manipulated, it is provided with any suitable fo1"m 01' lug or pro'ection55, at its heel,- whichs enga ewby t cup 1' end'of 'a spr ng 56, se-, cured to thebrac et 4'}, by a screw 57. The said upper end of the sprin is formed so 5as'to provue a notch and shou der at 58. to

;it permits of theaction of the 0 .ing adjusted to properly codperatethe other parts of the stitch forming mechanism the same. adjacent arm 40, ofthe bracket 41,is clam ed groove 33. The shaft 39 is obviously oscilment with the b0 bin and further movement of said finger isthereby positively arrested. The other. "arts of -.'the'j controller move 7 slightly furt er in, said direction. after said '(place, and the stopr53 1s enga ement takes the finger 5 0. It is thus seen -t at -the stop- -.tain the latter in its withdrawn position, as -shown in Figs. 1 and 3, said fin er being lie- 'tained-initS opdrative position I y means of, the extension '59, of the s ring, which bears 7C upon said heel portibn. he camdisk 32, is

rendered circularly adjustable upon the shaft -2 ihy means-ef aTsCIeW'GO, tapped through the hub 61, of said disk and connectin the shaft 2. By thus adjusting thecam dis 32, its elevation or swe 34, can be disposed so as to cause the actu tion of the thread-controlling finger at any given time relatively to the action of the feed, the looper and the take-up. This'timing is important in that g 8( ntroller beand feeding mechanism. In ractice in sewi ing machines the 'movemen of the feed'is timed sothat the movement ofthe work is finished at substantially the same time that the take-up finishes its upward or stitch set- -t-i n' movement; In'iny inventionthecontro ler cam is adapted so that it acts with tne take-up and the feed, and just at the time these elements finish their functional stroke the bobbin controller engages the bobbin and arreststhe further delivery of thread from j v U In connection with 'the bobbin contact part50 it is noted that'it receives all of its movements; from the action of the cam ated from the action of said cam groove, and the part 47 by reason of its engagement with the collar 44 securedto the shaft 39, is turnedpositively withsaid shaft. This stop 53 bein secured-t0 said shaft it also turns positive ywiththe same. In ractiee the tension ofthes ring 49 is adjuste so that itis sufficient to ho dthe-finger 50 inengagem'nt with v the stop 53 under any s 1 eed that themachine is run at, this being esirable to insure the engagementbetween the-finger and the bobbin at theprqper time.

In the operation of the controller to engage j the bobbin the functionalpqrtion 34 of thecam groove'3 3-moves thearm 36 laterally and thereby turns the shaft '39 and all the arts carried by said shaft in one direction. he parts are so. adjusted that just previous t0-the finishin of their movement in said direction the er 50' comes into engagethereby just move out of enga eilnent with moves away. from) theIfingeraga-inst the. action of the spring 49; A-tthis-po1ntT-there 1s' .a dwell in the portion 3,4 of the cam groeve'33 of suflicient extent to permit the stitch form-' the bobbin.- It is thus seen that, the. parts,

are actuated by the cam groove 33 in both directions and that the function of the spring 49 is .to yieldingly hold the contact part 50 into engagement with the part that actuates it, and thereby provide a yielding engage ment between the controller mechanism and the bobbin.

The distinction between holding two parts together by a spring, and the movement of one part relative to ano-therby a spring is to be noted. In the present form of my in vention the controller mechanism is actuated by the functional part of the cam groove 33,

but the bobbin contact part of said mechanism is adapted to yieldingly engage the bobbin. The spring in this mechanism holds two parts together, but does not move one part relative to another. It is therefore seen that all the parts of my present con troller mechanism derive their movements from a positively actuating cam; And it is also seen that all the parts move positively except the bobbin contact part and the spring which adapts said part to yieldingly engage the bobbin.

In my co'pending ap'plication Serial X0. 85,471, tiled December 11, 1901, a bobbin controller mechanism is described, which is in engagement with a peripheral cam, and is held in engagement with said cam by a spring. Consequently the controller mechanism is operated positively in one direction by the cam and in the opposite direction by a spring. In contradistinction to the mech anism in my said co-pending application my present controller mechanism is operated in both directions by a positive cam and by reason of this it may be run at a much higher rate of speed than the mechanism shown in my said co-pending application.

Having thebobbin contact part of my controller mechanism yielding, as in my present invention, is advantageous for various reasons; For example by this means the necessity of having all the bobbins just the same thickness is avoided, and the necessity of having the working position of said contact part such that it just contacts with the.

bobbin is also avoided. An unnecessary heavy pressure on the bobbin would of course be objectionable, this yielding means avoids this even though the parts are notadjusted absolutely correct. In connection with the movement of this yielding finger it is noted that the same is constructed so that it is very enough to permit of the passsgeot asingleshit and the bobbin,

brought about very gradually relative to he v cycle of movement of the disk it is evident that a com aratively light tension of the spring 49 Wil 'hold the finger against the stop 53.

I prefer anextending finger as shown for the yielding bobbin contact part, because the space between the bobbin and'the-throat plate that the said contact part has to operate in, is very limited in a machine in which the looper runs in a horizontal plane. And my controller is arranged to cooperate with a looper running in a horizontal plane because the looper in the machine in which I make use of this controller is so operated, but it is to be understood that the use of my controller is not limit-ed to such a machine. It is obvious that various changes might be made in this controller inechai ism without departing from the spirit of my invention, therefore it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exactconstruction herein disclosed.

Having thus describedmyinvention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patents is:

1. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism comprising a looper', a bobbin support provided with a bobbin means for controlling said bobbin comprising apositively actuating part, and a yielding contact part carried by said positively actuating part for engaging said bobbin.

2. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism comprising a looper, a bobbin case provided with a bobbin, means for controlling said bobbincomprising a positively actuating part, a yielding contact part carried by said positively actuating part for engaging the bobbin, and means for regulating the pressure of said contact part on the bobbin.

3. A bobbin controller mechanism for sewing machines comprising a grooved cam mounted on the main shaft, a second shaft having a bobbin contact piece mounted thereon, connection. between the second shaft and the grooved cam, and means whereby the contact piece may yieldingly engage the bobbin.

4. A bobbin controller mechanism for sewing machines comprising apart in which a cam groove is formed, a shaft and a connection between the same and said camgroove, a bobbin contact part carried by said shaft, and means also carried by said shaft for regulating the yielding pressure of said contact part on a bobbin.

5. A sewing machine comprising a looper, a bobbin carried by said looper, a bobbin controller mechanism having a p YQled bobbin contact part that extends over said bobbin,

means adapting said bobbin; contact part to be turned on its pivot nd thereby removed from above said bobbin, a feed mechanism comprising a piv otedffeed dog which extends over said bobbin, an ean's adapting said feed dog to be turned n its pivot and thereby removed from above aid bobbin.

6. A thread-controlling inechanism for sewing machines comprising a rock-shaft, means for actuating the same, a thread-controlling finger carried by said shaft, a-spring coiled upon the shaft and connected to the finger, means for regulating the tension of the spring, and means for limiting the move ment of the finger in one direction.

7. A thread-controlling mechanism for sewing machines comprising a rock-shaft, means for actuating-the same,.a thread-con-l trolling fingcrharried there, 3%, and means adjustable on the shaft and engaging the finger for limitingthe movementbf the'latter in one direction. a

8. A thread-controlling mechanism for sewing machines comprising a bracket, a shaft journaled therein, means for actuating the shaft, a thread-controlling finger carried by the shaft, and means for limiting the movement of the finger in one direction.

9. A thread-controlling mechanism for sewing machines comprising a rock-shaft; means for actuating the sameigw a thread-controlling finger loosely carried by the rockshaft; means on the shaft for controlling the actuation of the finger.

10. In combination, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle and looper; a thread-controller a feedingmechanism having a dog disposed so as to extend partially over the looper, and the latter being disposed between the feed and controller; and means for moving the dog aside so parts of the looper m." y be removed from the machine.

1 1. I11 combination, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle and looper; a feeding mechanism; and a thread-controlling mechanisni; the looper being disposed in a horizontal plane between thefeeding and a portion of the controlling mechanisms, and the thread-controlling mechanism having a 50 finger overlapping the looper; and means ing mechanism having a dog disposed so as t the I the; achine.

12F. .In combination, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle and looper; a thread-controller; a feed mechanism having a pivoted dog disposed so as to extend'pare tiall-y over the looper; and the looper being disposed-in rear of the feed mechanism substantially' in the line ,of feed and between said feed mechanism and the' controlletr. it t 1 3. In combination, a stitch-forming me'c anism'comprising a needle and looper; a'feed a oper may be removed from it? whe taby the finger may be moved aside so ffrts of the 10 extend partially over the looper; a thrpad controller having a fingenvdisposedilsoi as to extend partiallyover the looper; the looper being disposed between the controller and feed mechanism; and mechanisms for .moving the dog and finger aside so the parts of the looper may be removed from the machine! 14 In combination, a stitch-forming mech anism comprising a needle and looper; a feeding mechanism having a pivoted dog; and a)? thread-controller having a pivotal finger; the looper being disposed between the feed'qj and controller and below the dog and finger, and both the dog and finger being extended 1 partially over the looper.

15. A-sewing-machine having a looper die; posed in substantially a horizontal plane; a

feeding mechanism comprising a dogf'dis' posed so as to have its feed-movemertts in a substantially horizontal plane a thread-controller having a finger disposed in s ubstam tially a horizontal plane; the saiiidog and finger extending partially over th looper; and means for moving the dog and nger vertically away from the looper so the latter may be removed from the machine through the cloth-plate. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM N.

PARKiJs 

